R v Pike

The appeal heard by the Court was brought by the appellant, who was convicted of the murder of his mother. The respondent’s case was circumstantial and the appellant objected to the admissibility of certain evidence that the court was asked to consider. These included the evidence of a witness who recorded a conversation with the appellant that suggested his involvement in his mother’s death, the evidence of another witness that related to the sale of a corrosive cleaning product, and evidence of the purchase of a shovel and two plastic sheets. The court was required to consider the reliability of the evidence, its probative value, and whether it could rationally affect the assessment by a jury of the probability of the appellant’s guilt.

The court found that the evidence of the conversation between the witness and the appellant was reliable and that its reliability was a matter for the jury to determine. The court also found that the evidence of the sale of the cleaning product was probative in the context of other evidence and could rationally affect the assessment by a jury of the probability of the appellant’s guilt. The court further found that the evidence of the purchase of a shovel and two plastic sheets was also probative in the context of other evidence and could give rise to an inference that the appellant was the purchaser. This could constitute an intermediate fact in a rational chain of reasoning leading to a conclusion that the appellant was involved in his mother’s death.

The court overruled the objections to the evidence of the witnesses and the purchase of the shovel and plastic sheets. The court adjourned the application so far as it related to the evidence of another witness, to a date to be fixed. The court held that the evidence was admissible and that it was for the jury to determine its weight and probative value.

The court’s orders were that the objections to the evidence of the witnesses and the purchase of the shovel and plastic sheets were overruled. The application so far as it related to the evidence of another witness was adjourned to a date to be fixed.